The Gabriel and Mary Show
by ShivaVixen
Summary: Gabriel has exactly one friend in the world who'll keeps his secrets and doesn't mind bailing him out of trouble. She's Full of Grace, literally, and the Gospels referencing their first meeting made it a lot more dignified and formal than it actually was. Though if he keeps calling her 'Mary Sue' she's gonna hide his candy stash and call Kali and Sekhemet.
1. A Happy Announcement

**Summary:** The Annunciation was nowhere near as formal as the gospels made it out. And 'Full of Grace' is literal.

 **Historical/Biblical Note:** Despite what some would have you believe, Mary and Joseph were actually _officially_ married when Gabriel showed up, they didn't have a house of their own, yet, nor had they officially consummated, but the two were married, and it would not have been a shock for the community for Mary to be pregnant- the consummation could happen at any time after the wedding ceremony. How the wedding worked- they pledged themselves, there was a party, then the new couple went into a tent or room to spend their wedding night (consummation optional) and then the husband got a house for them to move into- or built it, either way- where they started their family. (This note is continued in the next chapter: Knocking Sense into Joseph.)

 **A Happy Announcement**

Gabriel had obeyed his father and gone to some random young woman named Mary to deliver the oddest message he had ever had to give. He'd known from his creation he was meant to be her protector, as well as protector of most of the prophets that came along (a couple Raphael and Michael were supposed to help- Michael and Moses had practically been best friends, well, as much as Michael befriended anyone). But while he didn't question his Father, he wasn't sure about any of this. Humans, he had seen, were awfully fragile creatures, and not always interested in doing what his Father wanted them to do.

"Hail-" He started, and was met by a shriek and a cushion in his face, which was followed by a wooden bowl full of water.

Once he'd gotten the poor girl calmed down, he had the awkward pleasure of telling her what his father wanted.

"So, um, God wants to be human for a bit, and wants you to give birth to Him- you are more than welcome to say no, of course, and I wouldn't blame you, I don't know what He's thinking with this." Gabriel explained.

"Um, Joseph and I haven't had sex yet, despite having our wedding, he's waiting to get our house built first." Mary looked as embarrassed as Gabriel felt.

"Uh, according to Him, you don't have to have Sex with anyone, He'll, uh, yeah, be there." Gabriel tilted his head. "You don't feel like a normal human, you know?" In fact, Gabriel would have thought she was another Archangel, if he didn't know Lucifer was grounded, and Michael and Raphael had decided to stay in Heaven.

"I don't think I am. I mean, I can tell when people are lying, and I fixed Joseph's arm by touching it the other day." Mary tilted her head. "I know things before they happen, sometimes."

"Right … I need to check on something real quick, so, uh, think it over?" Gabriel vanished to where his Father was putting something on tablets. "Dad, what did you do to her?"

"Hmm, oh, She's the Morning Star of the Human Race. It would be too dangerous for a regular human to be my Mother, so I gave her an Archangel's Grace when I made her." His Father tapped a tablet, making it vanish. "Did she give you an answer?"

"Dad, you know I left before she did." Gabriel didn't like this. "Can she do things like, you know, I can?" He'd always known that he'd one day protect Mary from trouble, that she'd be something special, but he hadn't expected her to be a human with Archangel type Grace.

"Possibly, I made the two of you to protect each other." Father tapped another Tablet, sending it off. "Now, go get her answer please, oh, and tell her about her cousin."

This time when he appeared, it was to a broom. Thankfully, it stopped before she hit him.

"Could you give me some sort of warning?" Mary asked, annoyed.

"I'll work on that." Gabriel held up his hands. "So, Yes or No, and I would not blame you if you told God to take a hike."

"Yes."

"Huh?" Gabriel wasn't sure if she meant Yes, she wanted his Father to take a hike, or Yes, she'd give birth.

"I'll do it." Mary looked amused. "My mother's been hinting at grandchildren before she dies, anyway."


	2. Knocking Sense into Joseph

**Summary:** Joseph has a crisis of confidence, but Gabriel isn't having it.

 **Biblical Note:** So, during a theology course (yes, I took a theology course, it was interesting) on Mary, the priest teaching it asked that, if Mary was known to be a good woman, and Joseph was a good holy man, why would he have not believed her? If he believed her, why would he divorce her? His response: He was going to divorce her _because_ he believed her, and thought God wouldn't want him as a Foster/Step-Father. (Which, face it, any man that marries a woman who agrees to be a surrogate for another might have this crisis.) Remember, they were officially married at this point, a 'bethrothal' back then was them 'pledging their troth' aka exchanging their marriage vows, and while Mary might have agreed to be a surrogate without Joseph's input, no one would have accused her of being unfaithful unless Joseph did first, because he was her husband, and the only one allowed to charge her, if he didn't, then the child was obviously his.

Also, the priest suggested that Joseph was actually closer to Mary in age and would have known her before getting married. So I took that and ran with it, Supernatural Style.

 **Knocking Sense into Joseph**

Mary had asked Gabriel to talk to Joseph, and Gabriel had agreed thinking the guy probably hadn't believed her.

Until Joseph said he did believe her, insulting Gabriel in the process of defending Mary's integrity, and Gabriel got a good look into his mind.

Joseph was a nice enough guy, Gabriel decided, but he was also an idiot. Gabriel knew the whole story between him and Mary, met one day when she brought water to the carpenters fixing her house, spent most of their time talking, Joseph fell hard for her, she reciprocated, Joseph was terrified her father would refuse his suit ... The usual small town love story, really, with the added bonus of not being arranged by cupids.

Which made Gabriel more than a little miffed Joseph was even considering leaving Mary.

"You're going to divorce her?" Gabriel crossed his arms and glared at him.

"I love her, but how can I possibly raise a child that's not really a child?"

"We've been over this, He is going to be your child. Yours and Mary's, and while I'm here for her protection, I'm not going to raise my- oh." Gabriel got it. "Look, Joe, it's an awkward situation all around, but if you walk out on Mary, who loves you, I will smite you."

"I'm not walking out on her, I'm trying to make sure I don't mess up raising a child!"

"So, you're insecure about raising a kid, and you're gonna take it out on her?"

Joseph groaned. "I want to be a father, don't get me wrong, I want Mary as my wife, but I … Surely there's someone better than me to be His father."

"Joe, my Father picked you and Mary to be his parents while he's human, who on earth would be better than someone He picked?" Gabriel rolled his eyes. Humans, he would never understand them.

"I guess." Joseph fiddled with a piece of wood, and Gabriel raised an eyebrow, taking in the wood and tools around them.

"You're saying all this, but still building a cradle?" There were animal carvings on the sides, mostly sheep.

"I wouldn't trust Micah to do it, his stuff is always slightly crooked." Joseph muttered, referring to the other carpenter, and former fellow apprentice. "I'm still not sure I'm the right person for the job."

Gabriel rolled his eyes again. "You've known Mary practically all your life, you really want to divorce her and leave her to the mercy of someone who won't treat her or her son well?"

"No, never." Joseph gripped his hammer and looked ready to bash in the skull of anyone who tried to harm Mary.

"Well then." Gabriel left, and grinned as this time, Mary didn't try to hit him at all when he appeared to her. Though that might have been because she was spinning. "I talked to Joe, you were right, he was freaking out."

"… I have no idea what that expression means, Gabriel."

"Panicking, basically. How did you know?" Gabriel had had to read the guy's mind, but Mary didn't know how to use her grace to do that.

"Ah, I've had to chase him down before." Mary smiled. "He almost ran away the night before his mastery test, he worries too much about things. Makes him a wonderful carpenter, though."

"I'll take your word for it." Gabriel shook his head. "So, how does this spinning work?" He didn't have any messages to send, and he wanted to learn a little bit more about this woman.


	3. What Happens in Vegas

**Summary:** Gabriel's best friend is the one that bails him out of jail, and helps him pick up girls.

 **Note:** Set prior to Series. Not all of these will be in chronological order, I'll make notes accordingly.

 **What Happens in Vegas**

"Here you are ma'am. Why are you bailing out Loki?" Mercury asks, confused, and Mary sighs.

"I owed him a favor, he called it in." Mary says, and shakes her head at Mercury's continued confusion. "I had some trouble with Eris a while back, Loki was willing to help."

"I see, well, he's cell 3, ma'am."

"Thank you Mr. Mercury." Mary smiles, and goes to pick up her wayward archangel, waiting until they were in the car to ask the question on her mind. "So, your check bounced at the Lotus Hotel, and instead of calling Sigyn, Thor or Odin, you called me. How is that keeping up your cover?"

"It wasn't my fault." Gabriel crossed his arms. "Hermes' is a swindler."

"Uh-huh. You owe me Treasure Island, and a trip to a casino for this."

"You know, it's almost insulting how everytime we do this, people just assume it's you being too nice and me taking advantage." Gabriel muttered.

"That reminds me, a couple of the Muses want your number."

"Which ones?"

"Thalia and Calliope." She pulled over to a rather nice hotel. "I told them to meet me here. Have fun."

"You're the best!" Gabriel grinned, and Mary smiled.

"Treasure Island and Casino, remember?"

"Cross my heart." And Gabriel slipped up to the bar where the two muses in question were waiting. "So, someone wanted my number?"


	4. Start of the Running Gag

**Summary:** The start of a very long, and very annoying from Mary's point of view, running gag, was in 1958. After all, Gabriel needed to keep his cover as a 'pagan' Trickster …

 **Notes:** I don't own the Buddy Holly song 'Peggy Sue'. (It originally came out in 1957 with the name 'Cindy Lou', but was re-done for Buddy Holly's 1958 record as 'Peggy Sue'.)

 **The Start of the Gag**

Mary had been having a busy day, she'd disguised herself as a nurse to help a devout mother of five to say her good-byes to her family without being hindered by pain, before helping a Rabbi talk down a suicidal man, and was honestly not really up for being pestered by anyone as she took a breather to watch children play.

"Mary Sue! Mary Sue! Oh, how my heart yearns for you! Oh, Mary! Oh, Mary Sue-oo-oo!"

Which of course was when Gabriel showed up, singing the latest song by Buddy Holly.

"You know it is 'Peggy Sue' or 'Cindy Lou', right?" Mary asked, and only got a smirk in response. She kind of hated it when Gabriel was in full on 'Loki the Trickster' Mode, while he did only go after 'dicks', he'd still take time to figuratively 'tug her pigtails' like a little boy trying to get the little girl he liked to pay attention to him.

(He usually apologized later, and honestly, they'd been friends long enough she could usually handle it when he got like this.)

"Ah, but I was thinking it fit your name better, 'Mary Sue, Jewish Girl Next Door Who Became God's Mother'. That'd make an interesting headline, come to think of it." Loki grinned.

"I will keep your suggestion in mind, Loki." Mary sighed, but smiled a little as he started humming it. "So, other than re-writing a song for me, was there anything else you needed?"

It turned out that was his friendly warning that for the next year, anytime 'Peggy Sue' came on near her, Peggy would change to Mary.

It was a small price to pay, she thought, for having a Trickster as a best friend.

(Then a decade or so later, there came the advent of Fanfiction and the creation of 'Mary Sue' characters which brought back the song and Loki's teasing, and she had to wonder why on earth they picked 'Mary' to use instead of some other name.)


	5. (Not So) Silent Night of the Nativity

**Summary:** The reason Gabriel announced Jesus' birth to Shepherds after a very awkward birth. And the reason why an Archangel and a Carpenter aren't the best midwives you could have.

 **Note:** I'm writing these as before Gabriel went into 'Witness Protection' as Loki, so he's just started working with humans that he might, sort of, be fascinated by, not that he'd tell anyone. Also, some slight description of childbirth in both idealistic and not so flattering tones, including some descriptions of blood and how messy it would have been to give birth in a stable. (More on the timeline next chapter, maybe.)

 **Note 2:** Most people can go up to about 42 for pain before their heart might give out. In Childbirth, the pain hits 51, above the average.

 **Biblical/Historical Note:** There is a debate that's been going on since the start of Christianity whether or not Mary felt pain during Childbirth (There have been _papers_ on this subject). For purposes of this fic, I'm going with the idea that she did. Also, childbirth back then? The woman didn't lay down unless something went wrong, she stood, and the midwife caught the baby as it fell out. (Think of it like hiking a football, in terms of appearance.)

 **The (Not So) Silent Night of the Nativity**

Gabriel thought he'd landed in the wrong place (why on earth had Joseph called him to a stable?) before he spotted Mary lying on some straw.

"What's wrong with her?" Gabriel demanded, trying to use his grace to soothe some obvious discomfort.

"The baby's coming, but there are no rooms or midwives available!" Joseph waved his arms. "I can't find anyone to help, and I don't know what to do! What do we do, Gabriel?"

"What makes you think I know anything about how humans give birth?!" Gabriel asked, at the same time Mary moaned in pain, so his voice slightly cracked at the end as he registered how much pain she was in.

"You're an angel! Surely you know something!"

Gabriel frantically tried to come up with something about human child birth, but all he could remember was Lucifer yelling in disgust at the idea of a child coming out from between someone's legs, and Raphael's vague interest in how human anatomy worked.

"You could ask me!" Mary yelled at both of them, her grace amplifying her voice slightly. "What did you think I was talking to my mother about before we had to leave?"

"What do we do Mary?" Joseph still looked freaked out.

"One of you is going to need to hold me up, the other needs to catch the baby as it comes," she had to catch her breath as a contraction hit, "out, but there might be some time before that. There's gonna be a cord, you're gonna have, gonna have to tie something around it and cut it."

It was a long couple of hours before Mary had them pull her up. Gabriel held her up, and with a wet sort of splat, Joseph caught the child, and Gabriel watched in horror over Mary's shoulder as the man tied off some sort of tube that connected the baby to Mary, before cutting it.

There was a lot of blood and fluid, and Gabriel panicked as Mary sagged forward, not registering the baby's cry or Joseph's comment about it being a boy. "Mary? Mary!" ' _Dad, please don't let her die, humans aren't supposed to lose that much … stuff!'_

"Ah." Mary gave a short cry, and her grace, which had been fluctuating through the process of birth, flared. When it cleared, she moved to stand up. Gabriel checked on her with his own grace, not quite believing it when he realized her grace had completely healed her as if she'd never given birth. "My baby?" She asked, clearly tired.

"Here, my rose, he's right here." Joseph had cleaned off the child, wrapped him in a spare cloak, and gave him to his mother.

"He's wonderful." She murmured, holding him. "Thank you, Gabriel."

Gabriel wasn't sure what the noise that came from his throat was, but he felt odd, staring at the scene. How had Dad come up with such a disgusting and yet amazing way of reproduction? Angels could not reproduce, they were created. Lucifer had been disgusted by the way humans reproduced- it was one of many complaints he had, one of many reasons he kept trying to convince their Father to get rid of the Humans.

He'd been using his grace to give her comfort, but the pain he had felt her suffer, he'd been sure it would have killed her despite his attempts to help. And instead of rejecting what had caused her so much pain, Mary had immediately asked for the baby, and declared him wonderful.

Later, he would remember that the baby was actually his Father taking a human form, but for a moment, when the baby curled up closer to his mother, while Mary and Joseph beamed and cooed at their son, Gabriel decided other people should know how amazing it was.

Since no one in town helped they didn't get to know he'd decided, and found the first group of people just outside the town who were still somewhat awake to announce it.

Those poor shepherds were too terrified of Gabriel to question it when he appeared showing off his wings and announcing that an amazing thing had happened in a stable of all places. They were also too terrified to disobey.

"Shepherds, really?" Joseph later asked, after the poor shepherds went to get drunk and forget they'd just been scared into seeing a mother and child by an angel.

"Well, they were the first ones I found, the rest of the town is filled with rude people that didn't deserve to know." Gabriel admitted, wondering if he'd done something wrong. He was supposed to announce the birth of the baby, Dad said, and he probably should go tell his brothers, just so they could know how Dad's plan was going.

"Well, it was nice of them to give me some wool to make a blanket for the baby." Mary giggled, rocking the baby gently. "That's more than we got from the Innkeeper."

A knock at the stable entrance somewhat surprised them, as one of the younger shepherds had returned.

"Um, if you want, my mother has some extra room in her house, might be better for the baby." He offered, a little shyly.

"That would be most welcome." Joseph accepted.

The shepherd's mother turned out to be partially deaf and blind, and promptly started doting on Mary and the Baby, scolding Joseph and Gabriel for letting her give birth in a stable. Being partially deaf and blind did not stop her from being an force of nature, Gabriel found, and he was very bemused when he got ordered by her to help fix up the rooms.

(Gabriel might have cured the old woman's handicap, just for that, and he might have given it to the Innkeeper. Mary gave him a new cloak, seeing through his attempt to claim ignorance of the whole matter..)


	6. Trouble in Paradise

**Summary:** Lucifer has not taken the news of his Father picking to be human for a while well. Michael is against him on principal and Raphael is trying to figure out how, exactly, it would work. Gabriel kind of wishes he didn't have to deal with this, but there's a place he can go to escape for a bit.

 **Historical/Biblical Note:** In the book of Job in the Old Testament, 'The Devil' aka Lucifer, is depicted as still being able to come and go from Heaven, despite being anti-human. Read the beginning and end of that book (skipping the bits with Job and his friends) and it sounds like God's trying to make a point about humans that the devil just doesn't get. I'm working with the idea that, in the Supernatural verse, prior to the time of Mary/Christ, Lucifer wasn't in the Cage yet, and still running around free for those 'Sunday Dinners' Gabriel mentions.

In the book of Tobit (Protestant Christians do not recognize this, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians do) of the Old Testament, we have Raphael help out a family with their troubles, granted it's with the end game of subduing a demon, but he still seems rather fond of them: he travels with the son and sets him up with a girl, and gives a cure for Tobit's blindness.

One Legend has it that Michael and the Devil fought over Moses' body after he'd died, Michael to bury it properly, while the devil wanted to desecrate it. Put on some Supernatural shades, and tell me how that sounds.

I won't get into the details of the Trinity, and how Christ and God are considered one and the same despite being separate, it gives _me_ a headache and there are entire books on the subject and several heresies. This is Supernatural, not Christian Apologetics.

 **Trouble in Paradise**

"He's doing what?!" Lucifer shouted, aghast at the very idea. He'd come back again to try and make his family see reason about those stupid humans, only to find his Father had apparently _become_ one.

"I don't know what you're complaining about, you spend time on that mud-ball with the humans too!"

"I'm trying to prove a point! How could He become one of them?"

"Well, I suppose it would be more like Him putting a bit of Himself in the human woman, like how we bi-locate." Raphael mused, tilting his head. "It would still be Him, but it would be human, too."

"Shut up, Raph!" Lucifer snapped, wings flaring. Raphael didn't respond, too busy trying to figure out, exactly, how his Father could become human when He was still clearly omnipresent.

"Don't you tell him to shut up, he was answering your question!" Michael snapped. "It is our Father's decision, we should abide by it!"

"It's a dumb decision!" Lucifer snapped. "Those creatures won't believe He's God and they'll kill Him, and He'll still insist they're worth caring about even as they shun and mock Him!"

"How dare you! After all the corruption you've caused!" Michael snarled, wings flaring.

"I didn't mess with anything that wasn't already there!"

"Guys, can we not do this?" Gabriel groaned.

"Gabriel, why didn't you stop him?!" Lucifer rounded on him, and Gabriel didn't miss the fact that Michael didn't step in to defend him.

"Whoa! Don't pin this on me, besides, Dad's been planning this from the beginning, Luci, you of all of us know that, He shared more with you than any of us."

"Yes, why do think I've been dealing with those mud-vermin, I've been trying to stop him from going through with it." Lucifer snarled. "Those humans can't handle grace without it burning them from the inside out! How could one possibly conceive without burning alive from the Grace of our Father?"

"They can handle small amounts of it, actually, but I agree, their process of giving birth would cause them great distress, unless our Father directly intervened." Raphael came out of his musing long enough to comment.

"Well, Dad made one with the same amount of Grace as us." Gabriel sighed, realizing he'd left out telling them about their Dad's choice in Surrogate Mother. "She was able to give birth to Him with little complication."

"What?" Lucifer's wings flared, glowing brightly, and scaring any lower level angels in the area to the farthest corners of heaven to avoid his wrath. "He gave some insignificant human an archangel's grace?!"

"Her name's Mary, and she's not insignificant!" Gabriel snapped, wings flaring. "Our Father picked her to bear Him, that alone makes her more worthy of respect!" All three of his brothers stared at him in shock.

Gabriel never really picked a side, preferring to leave as soon as possible when Michael and Lucifer started in on each other. In fact, he was usually the one that went to find Lucifer whenever the other vanished for too long, just to make sure he was alright. Michael, though he'd never said it, harbored suspicions that maybe his brother was actually helping Lucifer in his corruption of their Father's creations.

"So, you care about the humans?" Raphael asked, vaguely curious. He'd only interacted with a few, in order to secure one of Lucifer's more malicious creations, a Knight of Hell named Asmodeus, and found humans a rather interesting study from a healing point of view. He didn't really care for them.

"Don't put words in my mouth, Raph." Gabriel sighed, "Dad declared her the Morning Star of the human race, she's meant to be an example of what he wants humans to become. I like her, I don't want you insulting her." Joseph was an idiot, but Mary was nice, she showed him what she knew of the world, and asked him to tell her about what she didn't know. She was quite adept at healing as well, though she only would heal Joseph, rather than make her ability widely known.

Besides, he was supposed to protect her, and Gabriel had a feeling part of the reason was that his brothers wouldn't harm someone he liked. Dad tended to do things like that.

"As you wish, Brother." Michael nodded, and Lucifer just slightly inclined his head in apology, not saying anything.

Gabriel didn't stay much longer, wanting to return to the small house that housed Mary and her family while they waited for the census to end. He was sick at heart with the way his brothers kept tearing into each other.

Raphael viewed Humans as an experiment, he'd had some fondness for Tobit and Tobias, but that had been a passing thing, he spent more time studying them than interacting with them. Raphael used to leave Heaven on occasion, but now Gabriel didn't doubt it would be long before he stopped leaving altogether.

Michael viewed them as things to protect because their Father commanded it, but he had no problem destroying any that tried to kill the ones he was ordered to protect. Michael still hung out with Moses, but most of his time was devoted to the training of Heaven's armies, he hadn't been out since Israel's exile to Babylon, if Gabriel remembered right.

Lucifer, well, he'd been arguing that they were unworthy of their existence since they came to be, and Gabriel had a feeling it was because Dad had told him He was eventually going to take on a human identity so he could be closer to his youngest creations. Lucifer had a very idealistic view of their Father, Him becoming something so insignificant (in Luci's mind) was probably clashing with what Lucifer thought their Father should be like.

Lucifer had corrupted and tortured many into renouncing their Father and becoming demons, more than a few of their younger brothers had joined him. Naturally, that had set Michael off against him, and the two had been at odds ever since, every moment an increase in the chasm between them. Raphael had been interested in how Demons came to be, had then dismissed humans as anything worth caring about, and only sided with Michael because he wasn't much interested in fighting.

Gabriel, he'd been neutral as his family shook apart, he'd been trying to keep a balance between his brothers, running messages for Michael, giving reports to Raphael on interesting things the humans had done, and making sure Lucifer hadn't gone and hurt himself creating the monsters in an effort to prove humans were monstrous at heart.

Gabriel was getting sick of it, and God didn't seem to be stopping their fight, just watching as they fell apart, but then again, Dad had an entire universe to run, timelines to watch, it was possible that He wasn't stepping in because He thought they would settle it between themselves.

Maybe, but Gabriel wondered why He picked now to be human, it was only going to throw fuel on a fire that was already too hot.

He found Mary watching Joseph try to get their son (it was just too odd to think of him as his Father when He looked like this) to call him father, and Mary took one look at him, and promptly held out her arms.

Gabriel decided he really liked hugs. Especially since Mary's Grace also wrapped around his own, like his Father's and brother's once did.

(He made her vow never to tell a soul, wanting to try and regain his image of a warrior angel, and Mary had done so with a smile, assuring him no one would ever know of his momentary weakness.

He'd forgot to make Joseph swear, though, and Joseph told Jesus, who promptly started hugging him every-single time he saw him.)


	7. Winchester Apocalypse- Opening Acts

**Summary:** Mary's not impressed with the idea, or the way Michael and Raphael are pushing for this version to go through. She's even less impressed with the idea of children being used by demons. She also might finally understand why Gabriel left the Archangel gig.

 **Note:** This is set just after the events of Mary Winchester's death.

 **The Winchester Apocalypse- Opening Acts**

"You want to let Azazel put demon blood in the mouths of babies, just so Lucifer can have his vessel for your showdown?" Mary crossed her arms, she'd known this was coming, but that didn't change the fact that the two angels in front of her were idiots. "You want to let demons have access to innocent children?" It didn't help that there was a sudden deluge of panicked mothers, desperate to save their children, several of which were dead because of something stopping the angels who went to answer their prayers.

"It is the Will of our Father for it to happen this way." Michael said again as if that explained everything. They'd requested to meet with her in the Garden to discuss the Apocalypse, and so far, Mary had a feeling it was only because of station as God's Mother that Michael was even telling her any of this.

"The Will is for it to _possibly_ happen this way. There are over a dozen plans for the apocalypse." Mary corrected, wondering why neither Archangel was commenting on the fact Joshua was just standing there and watching them.

"Regardless, we both agree that this is for the best. Lucifer will not be handicapped in a fight against Michael." Raphael declared, as if that settled the matter.

"You both agree, I don't." Mary corrected, and then realized something horrible. "You've already let it happen." The mothers that were dying, they were trying to protect their children from something that appeared in their nursery. She hadn't paid any attention to the possible apocalypses and their time lines, too focused on helping as many people as she could (and it never seemed to be enough … she forced herself to focus back on the present.)

"Samuel Winchester has become the abomination, his older brother is meant to be Michael's vessel." Raphael explained.

It was accompanied with a flash of the future, a battle between brothers, and Mary lost it. "He's a baby! He didn't even have a chance to choose!"

"Your human hysterics-" Raphael started, only to get slammed away from Mary via her grace. It might have proved Raphael's point, but she was beyond caring.

"Angels were meant to protect Humans, not hand them over!" Now, she got why Gabriel ran instead of continued to deal with his brothers. They really didn't have any sympathy or empathy.

"My Lady, please, I know you're upset, but this is for the best, Father will come back after Lucifer is defeated." Michael raised his hands, trying to appear less menacing.

If she couldn't see his true form, it might have worked. As it was, she had to calm down anyway to make her next point.

"Those children are now under my protection. I don't want any of your angels interfering with their lives." They'd make them worse, given how deep Angels disgust of Demons ran.

"You cannot protect them from Demons, either, it would be against the God's Will." Raphael said as he returned.

"That's where you are wrong, Raphael. I can protect them, it won't be perfect, perhaps, as now it requires them to actually want and ask _specifically_ for my help, but I will protect them as best as I can." Mary vowed. The two angels left, and Mary turned on Joshua. "Why didn't you warn me about this?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware they were _actively_ not doing anything." Joshua held out a rose to her. "Your husband helped me with the new trellis."

"Joshua …" Mary warned, not in the mood to discuss the garden with children in trouble. (Grant it, children on earth were always in some sort of danger, but it was usually not because the angels had refused to protect them from a demon!)

"The Winchester boys are the most likely candidates." Joshua sighed. "The most of a delay you can give them all would be a decade or so, and that's assuming they want and ask for your protection."

"Their mothers asked for it right before they died, I think it counts." Mary muttered.

"A very small loophole, your protection still won't hold for long." Joshua sighed. "You would coddle them too much, to make up for Raphael's purposeful neglect."

"He told you this, I take it?" Mary didn't deny it, it was a sad fact of life that she had to let some children die, but she never liked it and always tried to give them something good to remember about their life. "I want to talk to Him about this 'Winchester Apocalypse'."

"He's going to visit you soon." Joshua nodded, already picking up his shovel.

"Thank you for the rose, I'm going to go visit Joseph." Mary turned and left, still more than a little annoyed about this turn of events.

Not being allowed to interfere directly was a problem, but her best friend was a Trickster … she'd figure something out to protect those children.


	8. All Around the Limbo World

**Summary:** Mary appreciates her son's offer of being waited on and cared for by the host of Heaven, but she'd rather renovate Limbo instead, and create places where she can interact with the living in order to help others.

 **Notes:** According to Catholic doctrine, Limbo ceased to exist once Jesus died and opened the doors to heaven for humanity (also at that point, in order for Humans prior to Jesus' death to be allowed in time had to be split into two, a plot point that will be touched on later) Depending on who you talk to, it either turned into Purgatory or became it's ante-chamber … I'm going with it as a separate place. There are dozens of debates about Limbo, this is my spin.

Mary, by virtue of being God's mother, got an elevated status in Heaven after her death or dormition- Dante's _Paradiso_ has her as the last thing standing between God and Dante. Catholic's recognize her as Queen of Heaven and Earth, effectively replacing Eve as the Mother of everyone. For more on this subject, there are Mariology classes.

* * *

 **All Around the Limbo World**

Eden was gorgeous, and Mary smiled as her Son showed her plants that she had never seen before, it was a nice break from the tension that had followed the splitting of time and the allowance of humans in Heaven.

"And these are Orchids!" God pointed them out happily.

"Oh, my, they're gorgeous!" Mary gently stroked the petals. "They've been pruned?" She noticed.

"Joshua is the angel in charge of the Garden when I'm not here." He explained, and took her hands. "Mother, you'll never have to worry or work here, the Angels will take care of everything you want."

"Dear, you know full well I'm not going to sit and be idle- Gabriel did teach me to answer prayers and how to heal, remember?" Mary squeezed her son's hands.

God smiled at the woman who had raised him. He'd known, but He'd still wanted it to be her choice.

"Well, then, how would you feel about taking care of troubled souls?"

"I'd need more detail than that."

"Limbo is empty right now, all souls that were contained are now in heaven, but I can tell you now, in the future, some souls will be too good for Hell, but too damaged and in need of healing before they can truly be at peace." His gaze went distant, or that's what it appeared to do, Mary smiled at the mimic of human behavior God still did around her. "They'll need someone to guide their healing."

"I'd be honored to help them." Mary smiled.

"Of course, I'll make sure you have Angels to help you, you know Sarathiel, Jael and Ariel, they'll make good seconds."

Mary shook her head, amused at her Son's eagerness to give her everything she could ever possibly need.

"I think I'll give you a portion of the cupids as well, you're a good match maker, oh, and there's going to be something that possibly happens, so how would you feel about taking care of baby angels as well?"

"'Something that possibly happens'? I don't suppose you'll clarify that?"

"Mother, a son needs to keep some secrets." He said with a grin, and Mary shook her head again in fond amusement. "I'll help you get set up!"

Limbo was a mess, and in desperate need of renovation. The Palace, however, was a little much.

"Mother, you deserve to be treated like a queen!" Her son noted her look. "You can make it look like whatever you want, mother." He added, smiling.

Mary concentrated, and instead of an elaborate palace, there was a simple copy of the temple with adjoining rooms for souls that would come to live there. It would take her more time to form a garden, and to make sure this place was still accessible to all people, but she wanted a fairly simple start.

Her Son left to speak with his Angels, but not before getting Joshua to bring her a rosebush from Eden, and Mary was only mildly surprised when Gabriel popped up on the sofa in the small living area she'd set aside for herself.

"Michael and Lucifer had another fight." He told her, and Mary quietly brought over a tray of cherries and other sweet fruits her best friend had introduced her to while teaching her to fly. "I don't like it when they fight." He told her while he took some cherries.

"I know, Gabriel. What was it about this time?"

"Same thing as last time. This time, though … Lucifer drew his blade." Gabriel closed his eyes and covered them with his arm. "I don't like them fighting."

"Well, God gave me Limbo to make it into a sanctuary for troubled souls, you're welcome to hide here as long as you need."

"Thank you." Gabriel uncovered his eyes and glanced around for a moment. "You need more colors." With that, multi-colored tapestries, blankets and rugs appeared.

"Thank you Gabriel, could you bring me some plants from your travels, they'll be a good start for a garden." Mary smiled, quietly resolving to move around some of the tapestries and rugs to some of the other rooms.

* * *

 **500 A.D.**

"My Lady, I don't think this is a good idea." Jael was in a golden-haired vessel from a country Mary had never heard of while she lived on earth. They were standing outside a partially burned building that had once been an Inn.

"Jael, first of all, call me Mary; second of all, I need to interact with living humans on occasion, perhaps by doing so I'll be able to help them accept their lives before I have to do the same for them in Limbo. Besides, I'll make it so only people who need and want help will be able to find these places." Mary assured her, before rebuilding the inn with a single 'clap' of her hands. Naturally, that included wards that would keep those who would seek to harm those under that roof from seeing the place, as well as not allowing any fights or violence from those that entered. "And this would be a good way for you and the other Angels to learn about the humans you'll be helping."

"If you think that is wise, My Lady."

"You're never going to call me by name, are you?" Mary sighed. So far, none of the angels, save Gabriel, would call her by her name. Ariel, thankfully, had compromised and started calling her 'Lady Mary', but even with time passing Mary wasn't quite settled into the idea of being considered something more than a mother and a wife.

* * *

 **1350 A.D.**

"A Plague, huh?" Mary rubbed her eyes, a new gesture she had picked up from one of her tenants. "Out of curiosity, has anyone told the flagellants that they're just helping to make it worse?" She looked into the 'reflection pool' she'd added as a means to see the world while she was in limbo.

"I think someone tried, but they believe their public flogging of themselves will grant their twons mercy." Sarathiel in the vessel of a persian* woman waited for Mary to swirl her hand through the water, dismissing the images, and to stand before bringing up the reason she sought Mary out. "There is a Pagan to see you." She sneered slightly at that. Sarathiel was one of many angels who believed the existence of pagan gods to be the same as weeds found in a garden, and had not agreed to Mary's extension of the Limbo sanctuary to them and their followers.

"Thank you, Sarathiel, I know that wasn't easy for you." Mary went out to the meeting area that was technically one of many holes in the veil that connected Limbo to the living world. "Greetings, Hestia of Olympius, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" It was rare for the greek goddess of the Hearth to leave her home. "Please, come and sit with me, would you like some wine?"

"No, thank you, I'm afraid the pleasure is fleeting. Eris is … displeased, with your saving the child she wished to drown to punish the parents for their presumption in trying to bind her." Hestia explained.

"Oh dear, how 'displeased' is she?"

"She is spreading false rumors, some of the smaller pantheons of gods are believing them." Hestia absently held her hands over the small hearth near where they sat. "Iris is also displeased by this, though it is directed at Eris. I'm afraid this is only the beginning, however."

"Yes, it probably is. Thank you for warning me." Mary sighed. Sarathiel and Jael would be hard to convince to not retaliate for whatever slurs Eris had spread.

"It was the least I could do after your previous help." Hestia stood, and Mary walked her to the entrance. "I'm afraid not even Zeus can halt Eris when she's upset."

"I shall not forget that." Mary watched Hestia go, before deciding to check on one of her Convents to see how they were fairing during the plague.

Of course, none of the cloister knew that the sister who was in charge of the small garden was her.

When she arrived, however, it was to the sight of her nuns with sores and blackened spots from the plague. A cruel giggle informed her of just who had caused the problem, and Eris appeared to wave mockingly at Mary before vanishing.

Mary was normally quiet even tempered, she had no problem playing the mediator and had centuries to learn how to deal with the trauma that came from being a human full of grace.

Eris, however, had managed to hit two of the three things that made Mary angry, and that was harming children and those who had consecrated themselves to live peacefully.

* * *

 **1944 A.D.**

"Shh, Shh, it's okay." Mary soothed, one of her angels on the other side of a young woman who hadn't been completely dead when she was thrown into the incinerator at a Death camp, and was not willing to let the experience go, or even leave the 'entrance' hall where the reaper had brought her.

The young woman did not react well when a suicide showed up. The fact he was still wearing the uniform of a death camp guard didn't help.

"Good men follow orders." The man muttered, sobbing. "I can't! I'm not a good man! No more!" Two angels quickly pulled him into another hall.

"I thought that other war was monstrous." Mary murmured, finally coaxing the woman into a room where the Angel could start working on healing her trauma.

"My Lady, there's a Reaper here to see you." An Angel wearing the vessel of a large, but soft-spoken, Ethiopian man came up to her.

"Thank you Ariel."

Being able to see a Reaper's true form was one of the least frightening things her Grace filled abilities gave her. In fact, Mary no longer cared. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but your true form will frighten any more new arrivals, if you wouldn't mind changing?"

The Reaper turned into a Korean man. "Not at all."

"Thank you, now, what can I help you with?"

"We need help with some stubborn and frightened souls who are refusing to move on."

"Of course." Mary nodded, once she sent several angels to help the reapers, Mary left Limbo under Ariel's supervision, quietly checking on a couple that were smuggling Jews away from territories under Germany's hold, before checking on an inn and tavern she'd created to help the living in England.

It was currently hosting several displaced children and their mothers, and it was only the fact Mary had learned to travel through time that helped her continue to run it without anyone wondering where 'Moira' occasionally vanished to.

She didn't bat an eye when Loki, dressed in a RAF pilot's uniform, suddenly appeared in the back room while she was checking the rations, or when he placed a box of chocolate on the shelf.

"I thought you were out messing with airplanes?"

"Eh, they've come up with the idea that 'gremlins' are what are messing with their war machines, so I made some to continue the work." Loki shrugged. "By the way, your broken bird's abusive husband is dead. Beaten to death by gremlins." He added with a smirk.

Mary didn't ask for any more details, she'd started all these little places for interaction with the living (and occasional pagan god) in order for her not to lose her empathy for them; not that there weren't times when she'd find herself stepping back emotionally in order to let people make their own choices, regardless of how stupid, and to feel some sense of satisfaction that a person received their wages of their sins; the 'broken bird' had tried to claim that she and her children, the youngest being two were just bruised from the rubble of her house before they were evacuated.

Rubble, however, didn't form bruises shaped like hands, especially around a four year olds neck.

"Thor must be enjoying this."

"Best mood I've seen all those war gods and goddesses in for a long time, I don't think that 'Great War' really cut it for them, just made them hungry. Rumor has it though that Minerva is disgusted with ol' Adolph for something, though, so I won't be surprised if he starts to lose some ground." Loki grinned. "Which reminds me, it's time I spent some time with those lousy goose-steppers." A snap, and his uniform changed into a Nazi Major's uniform. "I'll swing by Limbo later."

* * *

 **Some Clarifying Author's Notes:**

 **There, snippets of what Mary does. She has her own Garrison of Angels, and she and Raphael are the two that work with the Cupids (more on that head canon later).**

' **Jael' is taken from the book of judges, a woman who killed a war lord by driving a tent peg through his temple. 'Ariel' means 'Lion of God', and is more Shakespeare than Hans Christian Anderson. 'Sarathiel' is one of several possible names for the other three Archangels in the list of the traditional seven (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel are the four most often used in media, it should be noted that Lucifer is not traditionally listed).**

 **Limbo is now a place where souls that are still caught up in the events leading or causing their deaths can heal so they can accept the idea of going to heaven. I did technically combine some of what Catholic doctrine views purgatory as, because in Supernatural Purgatory is Monster Heaven, and in real life, there have been those that combine/confuse Purgatory and Limbo with each other.**

 **Other than Limbo, Mary has a bar, a bed and breakfast, a hostel, a motel, a couple convents, and several other similar-type places that she and her angels use to try and help people who are having trouble with their lives.**

' **Eris' the greek or roman goddess of chaos (I can't remember which, so I went with greek) this is the beginning of the trouble Mary has with some of the pagan gods, and the start of the incident referenced in the chapter 'What Happens in Vegas'.**

 **Sadly, some people really were only mostly dead when they were cremated in the Nazi Death Camps. And how anyone could do such horrible things to another person is a fascinating study in psychology involving propaganda that was de-personalizing those who were sent to the camps so that the guards would follow orders without question, there were some who did realize what they were doing was wrong, but were too scared to speak out or fight.**

 **Suicides- Yes, it was regarded as a sin because it was killing a person (murder of oneself) and giving into despair and the belief that God wasn't helping you and so dying was better than living with an unfeeling God; however, people then were not aware of brain chemistry imbalances that caused a person to feel depression and to harm themselves. There was a belief for a while that instead of Hell, suicides went to Limbo, so I decided to use that.**

' **Gremlins' were little creatures that sabotaged airplanes, but they only came into existence, and I have two different stories for where their name came from, during World War II. Naturally, they spread out from messing with airplanes to all other mechanical equipment.**


End file.
